Multiple compartment balloon catheter

ABSTRACT

A catheter provided on the tip with a balloon of the type which can be inflated by being filled with a fluid, and particularly a catheter provided with a balloon around the inside circumference of which are formed multiple compartments. The direction of said catheter can be controlled at bifurcations in the blood vessel by supplying fluid through a fluid supply channel to at least one compartment so as to inflate the compartment corresponding to said channel.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/465,087, filed on Feb.6, 1990, which is abandoned.

DESCRIPTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a catheter, and particularly to acatheter which is inserted into the blood vessels, urethra, and similarvessels of the body.

2. Background Art

Various methods have been developed for the treatment of arterial andvascular constriction or occlusion due to arteriosclerosis, and for theremoval of thrombi.

The most widely used method is bypass surgery in which the lesionedmember of the blood vessel is surgically removed and replaced with asection of blood vessel from the patient or with an artificial bloodvessel, thus physically eliminating the problem. However, because thisprocedure necessitates cutting the body open, the load on the body isgreat and treatment incurs great cost.

Drug therapy is also employed, but this is only effective for dissolvingthrombi, and is not very successful at removing arteriosclerotic foci orocclusions.

New alternative methods selectively employed include the insertion of acatheter with a balloon into the blood vessel and inflating the balloonat the site of the lesion to mechanically enlarge the blood vessel atthe constricted site, and the insertion of a catheter with a balloon inwhich is carried an optical fiber for laser conduction. In this lattermethod, the balloon is inflated to occlude the blood vessel and stop theblood f low while the laser is used to evaporate the lesion.

Diagnostic techniques employed with the inside wall of the blood vesselsincludes the insertion of a catheter containing an imaging fiber intothe blood vessel to inspect lesions using said imaging fiber.

In the use of such a catheter for therapy or diagnosis as previouslydescribed, it must be possible to steer the catheter in the desireddirection at blood vessel bifurcations in order for the catheter toreach the site of the target lesion.

This is presently accomplished by using a catheter the leading end ofwhich is bent to a specific angle. The catheter is steered by rotatingthe hand-held end of the catheter to align the leading end with thebranch vessel down which the catheter is to be conducted. However, largeindividual differences in the shape and condition of said bifurcationsmake it difficult to use catheters of the above construction with allpatients, and it is also difficult to conduct the catheter down thedesired branch at complex, multi-branched junctions.

It has therefore been proposed to use a jointed ring construction on thecatheter end and to steer the catheter in the desired direction byoperating a wire passing through the catheter. However, because theconstruction of such a catheter is complex, it is difficult to achieve afine diameter catheter.

With respect the aforementioned problems, a catheter according to thepresent invention provides a construction which is simple and which canbe easily conducted in the desired direction through blood vessels andother vessels of the body.

DISCLOSURE INVENTION

A catheter according to a first embodiment of the present invention iscomprised of multiple compartments along the circumference of the insideof the balloon, and individual fluid supply channels provided for eachcompartment.

A catheter according to a second embodiment of the present invention iscomprised of multiple balloons along the circumference of the catheter,and individual fluid supply channels provided for each balloon.

Using a catheter according to said first embodiment, the catheter tipcan be aligned in the desired direction when the catheter is insertedinto a blood vessel or similar vessel by supplying a fluid to a specificcompartment through the fluid supply channels and thus inflating thatcompartment.

Furthermore, using a catheter according to said first embodiment, thecatheter tip can be aligned in the desired direction by likewisesupplying a fluid to a specific balloon to inflate said balloon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a catheter according tothe present invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross section of said first catheter,

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are cross sections showing said catheter in use, and

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alternative catheter.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the front tip of a catheter 1 accordingto the present invention. Said tip is comprised of a balloon 2 which isused to occlude vessel A, which may be a blood vessel or similar vessel.Inside said balloon 2 is formed multiple compartments 4 which aredivided by radial walls 3 as shown in FIG. 2. A channel 5 for fluidsupply is individually provided to each of compartments 4 so that a gasor fluid may be supplied separately and individually to each ofcompartments 4 via said channel 5 through openings 9 in the wall of tube6 in order to inflate that compartment 4. Said fluid supply channels 5are formed by compartmentalizing the inside of a single tube 6 as shownin the figure according to the number of compartments 4 provided. Insideof tube 6 may be used as a channel 7 for the supply of drugs, thechannel 7 being bounded by second tube 8.

If the catheter 1 is construed as just described, when the catheter 1 isinserted into vessel A and is advanced to a bifurcation or otherjuncture in vessel A, the tip of catheter 1 can be aligned in thedesired direction and conducted down the desired branch vessel byselectively inflating compartments 4.

Specifically, if, as shown in FIG. 3, inflation fluid is supplied to thecompartment 4 which is opposite the bottom wall of vessel A on theinside of the vessel so that said compartment 4 is inflated, when thebottom side of balloon 2 contacts the inside wall of vessel A, the tipof catheter 1 will be lifted and aligned with the branch which isdiagonally above the bifurcation point. Therefore, said catheter 1 canbe inserted into branch vessel A1 by inserting the catheter 1 farther.Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, if the compartment 4 opposite the topinside wall of vessel A is inflated, when the top side of the balloon 2contacts the inside wall of vessel A, the tip of the catheter 1 will beforced down and aligned with the branch which is diagonally below thebifurcation point. Therefore, said catheter 1 can be inserted intobranch vessel A2 by inserting the catheter 1 farther. Thus, the angle oforientation of the tip of catheter 1 can be freely adjusted bycontrolling the amount by which compartment 4 is inflated in each of theabove situations. Furthermore, the orientation and direction of thecatheter 1 can also be freely adjusted by appropriately inflatingmultiple compartments 4 at the same time.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of an alternative embodiment of catheter 1. Itdiffers from the embodiment previously described in that multipleballoons 2 are provided diametrically along catheter 1, and fluid supplychannels 5 are provided individually and separately to each of saidballoons 2.

As with the previous embodiment of catheter 1, the catheter 1 tip can bealigned in the desired direction and conducted down the desired branchvessel by selectively inflating balloons 2 when the catheter 1 tipreaches the bifurcation of vessel A.

A catheter 1 according to the present invention is not limited to theabove embodiments, however, and may be constructed, for example, withmultiple individual tubes for each of the required fluid supply channels5, and the construction may be changed by increasing the number ofcompartments 4 and balloons 2 without changing the intent and meaning ofthe invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A catheter 1 according to the present invention is also suited toendoscope catheters in which an imaging fiber is imbedded in thecatheter, laser illumination catheters in which a laser conducting fiberis imbedded in the catheter, and other types of catheters.

A catheter according to the present invention as previously describedoffers the benefit of being easily conducted to the target site becausethe catheter can be aligned in any desired direction at any desiredangle by selectively inflating any of multiple compartments inside aballoon or by selectively inflating any of multiple balloons. Inaddition, the additional benefit of being able to achieve fine diametercatheters can be provided because the construction is simple.

We claim:
 1. A catheter comprising:a tube sized so as to be capable ofbeing inserted into a vessel of the human body, said tube havingpartitions for dividing said tube into a plurality of channels forcarrying a first fluid, said tube having a tip disposed at an endthereof; a balloon disposed about said tip of said tube, said balloonincluding radial walls defining multiple compartments, said compartmentsbeing disposed between said walls inside of said balloon, eachcompartment corresponding to a respective channel of said tube, saidballoon compartments further including separation walls defined by saidtube for separating said compartments from corresponding channels, eachsaid separation wall having an opening so that each compartment can beselectively inflated by directing fluid into a corresponding channel andthrough said opening enabling the position of said catheter to becontrolled by contact with a wall of said vessel.
 2. A catheter asclaimed in claim 1 wherein inside of said tube is disposed a second tubeused as a channel for carrying a supply of drugs to a predeterminedlocation within the vessel.